Six UN foreign staff killed in Kabul attack

Kabul: Taliban militants killed six UN foreign staff in an attack on an international guest house in Kabul yesterday, deepening concerns about security for a presidential election run-off due in 10 days.

The resurgent Taliban have vowed to disrupt the November 7 run-off as US President Barack Obama weighs whether to send more troops to Afghanistan to fight an insurgency that has reached its fiercest level in eight years.

In another sign of the growing reach of militants, rockets were also fired at a foreign-owned luxury hotel near the presidential palace in the heart of the Afghan capital, forcing more than 100 guests into a bunker, a hotel guest said.

The Taliban said they had targeted the guest house because of the United Nations's role in helping organise the run-off vote.

"We have said that we would attack anyone engaged in the process and today's attack is just a start," Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told Reuters by telephone.

The US embassy said one American was among those killed. The United Nations said the attack would not deter it from its work, adding, however, that it may review security measures.

Hours after the Kabul attacks, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton landed in neighbouring Pakistan vowing a new page in US-Pakistan relations. Defeating the Taliban and stabilising Afghanistan is a key plank of Washington's regional strategy against militancy.

Adrian Edwards, a UN spokesman in Kabul, said six UN staff had been killed and nine wounded in the attack. President Hamid Karzai's palace and police said at least one Afghan civilian and three police were also killed.

The attackers wore police uniforms to secure entry into the guest house, police said. Abdul Ghaim, a policeman at the guest house, said police believed the attackers were Pakistanis.

Rockets were also fired at the foreign-owned Serena luxury hotel, witnesses and security sources said. No one was injured.

India voices concern

India voiced shock and concern yesterday over the attack by Taliban gunmen on a guesthouse in Kabul that killed six expatriate UN staff.

"We are shocked by the dastardly attack on the UN guesthouse in Kabul," Foreign Minister S.M. Krishna told reporters in the southern city of Bangalore. "We convey our deep sympathy to the UN for the loss of life and hope more security measures will be taken," Krishna said.

In France, Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner vowed that France would stick by the Afghan people.

"The Taliban's goal is clear: kill innocent people and terrorise public opinion to prevent Afghanistan getting back on its feet," he said.

Meanwhile, ACBAR, an umbrella organisation for more than 100 non-governmental organisations, said the attack highlighted the increasing threat for aid groups operating in the war-torn nation.